Virtual computational storage devices

ABSTRACT

A system includes a virtual computational storage emulation module configured to provide a virtual computational storage device. The system further includes a storage element, where the virtual computational storage emulation module is configured to store data associated with the virtual computational storage device at the storage element. The system further includes a compute element. The virtual computational storage emulation module is configured to send a compute request associated with the virtual computational storage device to the compute element.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

The present application is a continuation application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 17/351,114 filed Jun. 17, 2021, which claimspriority to and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.63/196,081, filed Jun. 2, 2021 entitled “Virtual Computational StorageDevices,” the entire contents of each of which is incorporated herein byreference.

FIELD

The present disclosure generally relates to systems and methods forvirtual computational storage devices.

BACKGROUND

Computational storage devices provide computation functions and datastorage. Accordingly, a host device may store data at and offloadcomputations to a computational storage device. However, computingsystems may include storage devices that do not support computationfunctions.

The above information disclosed in this Background section is only forenhancement of understanding of the background of the disclosure andtherefore it may contain information that does not constitute prior art.

SUMMARY

In various embodiments, described herein include systems, methods, andapparatuses related to virtual computational storage devices.

A system includes a virtual computational storage emulation moduleconfigured to provide a virtual computational storage device. The systemfurther includes a storage element, where the virtual computationalstorage emulation module is configured to store data associated with thevirtual computational storage device at the storage element. The systemfurther includes a compute element. The virtual computational storageemulation module is configured to send a compute request associated withthe virtual computational storage device to the compute element.

A method includes providing, at a virtual computational storage deviceemulation module, a virtual computational storage device. Dataassociated with the virtual computational storage device is stored at astorage element. The method further includes receiving, at the virtualcomputational storage device emulation module, a compute request for thevirtual storage device. The method further includes sending atranslation of the compute request to a compute element.

A system includes a compute element of a first device and a storageelement of a second device. The system further includes a computationalstorage client and a processor. The processor is configured to receive acompute request from the computational storage client. The processor isfurther configured to send a translation of the compute request to thecompute element of the first device. The processor is further configuredto receive a storage request from the computational storage client. Theprocessor is further configured to send a translation of the storagerequest to the storage element of the second device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above-mentioned aspects and other aspects of the present techniqueswill be better understood when the present application is read in viewof the following figures in which like numbers indicate similar oridentical elements:

FIG. 1A is a block diagram of a system for providing a virtualcomputational storage device.

FIG. 1B is a block diagram of storage request handling in a system forproviding a virtual computational storage device.

FIG. 1C is a block diagram depicting command translation in a system forproviding a virtual computational storage device.

FIG. 2A is a block diagram of a system for providing a virtualcomputational storage device that is supported by more than one storageelement.

FIG. 2B is a block diagram of a system for providing a virtualcomputational storage device that is supported by more than one computeelement.

FIG. 3A is a block diagram of a system for providing more than onevirtual computational storage device.

FIG. 3B is a block diagram of a system for providing more than onevirtual computational storage device that share a storage element.

FIG. 3C is a block diagram of a system for providing more than onevirtual computational storage device that share a compute element.

FIG. 4A is a block diagram of a system for providing a virtualcomputational storage device that is supported by components of acomputing device executing a hypervisor.

FIG. 4B is a block diagram of a system for providing a virtualcomputational storage device that is supported by physical computationalstorage devices.

FIG. 4C is a block diagram of a system for providing a virtualcomputational storage device that is supported by components external toa computing device executing a hypervisor

FIG. 4D is a block diagram of a system for providing a virtualcomputational storage device that is supported by a variety ofcomponents.

FIG. 5A is a flowchart of a method of providing a virtual computationalstorage device that supports compute requests.

FIG. 5B is a flowchart of a method of providing a virtual computationalstorage device that supports storage requests.

FIG. 5C is a flowchart of a method of providing a virtual computationalstorage device that returns command results in a computational storageformat.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a computing system for providing a virtualcomputational storage device.

While the present techniques are susceptible to various modificationsand alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way ofexample in the drawings and will herein be described. The drawings maynot be to scale. It should be understood, however, that the drawings anddetailed description thereto are not intended to limit the presenttechniques to the particular form disclosed, but to the contrary, theintention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternativesfalling within the spirit and scope of the present techniques as definedby the appended claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The details of one or more embodiments of the subject matter describedherein are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the descriptionbelow. Other features, aspects, and advantages of the subject matterwill become apparent from the description, the drawings, and the claims.

Various embodiments of the present disclosure now will be described morefully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in whichsome, but not all embodiments are shown. Indeed, the disclosure may beembodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limitedto the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments areprovided so that this disclosure will satisfy applicable legalrequirements. The term “or” is used herein in both the alternative andconjunctive sense, unless otherwise indicated. The terms “illustrative”and “example” are used to be examples with no indication of qualitylevel. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout. Arrows in each ofthe figures depict bi-directional data flow and/or bi-directional dataflow capabilities. The terms “path,” “pathway” and “route” are usedinterchangeably herein.

Embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in variousways, including as computer program products that comprise articles ofmanufacture. A computer program product may include a non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium storing applications, programs, programcomponents, scripts, source code, program code, object code, byte code,compiled code, interpreted code, machine code, executable instructions,and/or the like (also referred to herein as executable instructions,instructions for execution, computer program products, program code,and/or similar terms used herein interchangeably). Such non-transitorycomputer-readable storage media include all computer-readable media(including volatile and non-volatile media).

In one embodiment, a non-volatile computer-readable storage medium mayinclude a floppy disk, flexible disk, hard disk, solid-state storage(SSS) (for example a solid-state drive (SSD)), solid state card (SSC),solid state component (SSM), enterprise flash drive, magnetic tape, orany other non-transitory magnetic medium, and/or the like. Anon-volatile computer-readable storage medium may also include a punchcard, paper tape, optical mark sheet (or any other physical medium withpatterns of holes or other optically recognizable indicia), compact discread only memory (CD-ROM), compact disc-rewritable (CD-RW), digitalversatile disc (DVD), Blu-ray disc (BD), any other non-transitoryoptical medium, and/or the like. Such a non-volatile computer-readablestorage medium may also include read-only memory (ROM), programmableread-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM),electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flashmemory (for example Serial, NAND, NOR, and/or the like), multimediamemory cards (MMC), secure digital (SD) memory cards, SmartMedia cards,CompactFlash (CF) cards, Memory Sticks, and/or the like. Further, anon-volatile computer-readable storage medium may also includeconductive-bridging random access memory (CBRAM), phase-change randomaccess memory (PRAM), ferroelectric random-access memory (FeRAM),non-volatile random-access memory (NVRAM), magnetoresistiverandom-access memory (MRAM), resistive random-access memory (RRAM),Silicon-Oxide-Nitride-Oxide-Silicon memory (SONOS), floating junctiongate random access memory (FJG RAM), Millipede memory, racetrack memory,and/or the like.

In one embodiment, a volatile computer-readable storage medium mayinclude random access memory (RAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM),static random access memory (SRAM), fast page mode dynamic random accessmemory (FPM DRAM), extended data-out dynamic random access memory (EDODRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), double datarate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDR SDRAM), double datarate type two synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDR2 SDRAM),double data rate type three synchronous dynamic random access memory(DDR3 SDRAM), Rambus dynamic random access memory (RDRAM), TwinTransistor RAM (TTRAM), Thyristor RAM (T-RAM), Zero-capacitor (Z-RAM),Rambus in-line memory component (RIMM), dual in-line memory component(DIMM), single in-line memory component (SIMM), video random accessmemory (VRAM), cache memory (including various levels), flash memory,register memory, and/or the like. It will be appreciated that whereembodiments are described to use a computer-readable storage medium,other types of computer-readable storage media may be substituted for orused in addition to the computer-readable storage media described above.

As should be appreciated, various embodiments of the present disclosuremay also be implemented as methods, apparatus, systems, computingdevices, computing entities, and/or the like. As such, embodiments ofthe present disclosure may take the form of an apparatus, system,computing device, computing entity, and/or the like executinginstructions stored on a computer-readable storage medium to performcertain steps or operations. Thus, embodiments of the present disclosuremay also take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirelycomputer program product embodiment, and/or an embodiment that comprisescombination of computer program products and hardware performing certainsteps or operations.

Embodiments of the present disclosure are described below with referenceto block diagrams and flowchart illustrations. Thus, it should beunderstood that each block of the block diagrams and flowchartillustrations may be implemented in the form of a computer programproduct, an entirely hardware embodiment, a combination of hardware andcomputer program products, and/or apparatus, systems, computing devices,computing entities, and/or the like carrying out instructions,operations, steps, and similar words used interchangeably (for examplethe executable instructions, instructions for execution, program code,and/or the like) on a computer-readable storage medium for execution.For example, retrieval, loading, and execution of code may be performedsequentially such that one instruction is retrieved, loaded, andexecuted at a time. In some example embodiments, retrieval, loading,and/or execution may be performed in parallel such that multipleinstructions are retrieved, loaded, and/or executed together. Thus, suchembodiments can produce specifically-configured machines performing thesteps or operations specified in the block diagrams and flowchartillustrations. Accordingly, the block diagrams and flowchartillustrations support various combinations of embodiments for performingthe specified instructions, operations, or steps.

As used herein, a computational storage device refers to a storagedevice that supports computational tasks. For example, a computationalstorage device may include a storage element (e.g., non-volatile memory,such as flash memory, etc.) and a compute element (e.g., a centralprocessor unit (CPU), graphics processor unit (GPU), a fieldprogrammable gate array (FPGA), an application specific integratedcircuit (ASIC) (such as a tensor processing unit), processor core, etc.)and be configured to support storage of data at the compute element andexecution of computational tasks at the compute element. Accordingly, acomputational storage device may provide storage capabilities to acomputational storage client (e.g., a computing device) and may supportoffloading of computational tasks from the computational storage clientto the computational storage device. Referring to FIG. 1A, a blockdiagram depicting a system 100 for providing a virtual computationalstorage device is shown.

The system 100 includes a virtual computational storage emulation module102, a compute element 106, a storage element 108, and a computationalstorage client 104. The virtual computational storage emulation module102 may correspond to software (e.g., a hypervisor) executable by aprocessing device (not shown) of a computing device (e.g., a serverdevice) to provide access to a virtual computational storage device 110.The virtual computational storage device 110 may be a logical constructrather than a physical computational storage device. The virtualcomputational storage emulation module 102 provides the virtualcomputational storage device 110 by emulating (e.g., reproducing)functions of a physical computational storage device. Functions of thevirtual computational storage device 110 are implemented by the computeelement 106 and the storage element 108. The virtual computationalstorage emulation module 102 is configured to emulate a physicalcomputational storage device, to provide storage request translation,and to provide compute request translation, as described further herein.The compute element 106 and the storage element 108 may be components ofa physical computational storage device or one or more other types ofdevices.

The compute element 106 may correspond to a CPU, a GPU, an FPGA, anASIC, a processor core, another type of processor element, or acombination thereof. The storage element 108 may correspond to a solidstate drive, a hard disk drive, another type of non-volatile memory, ora combination thereof. The compute element 106 and the storage element108 may correspond to distinct devices or to a single device. Forexample, the compute element 106 and the storage element 108 maycorrespond to a physical computational storage device. In someimplementations, the compute element 106 and the storage element 108 areinternal to a device that executes the virtual computational storageemulation module 102. In some implementations, the compute element 106and the storage element 108 are external to a device that executes thevirtual computational storage emulation module 102. While a singlecompute element and a single storage element are shown, the system 100may include additional compute elements and additional storage elements.Further, while the virtual computational storage device 110 is shown asbeing supported by a single compute element and a single storageelement, the virtual computational storage device 110 may be supportedby more than one compute element and/or more than one storage element.Further, the virtual computational storage emulation module 102 mayprovide more than one virtual computational storage device.Communications between the virtual computational storage emulationmodule 102 and the compute element 106 and the storage element 108 maybe carried over a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) link, a PCIexpress (PCIe) link, a serial advanced technology attachment (SATA)link, a serial attached small computer system interface (SATA) link, afibre-channel, an Ethernet link, an Institute of Electrical andElectronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 link, another type of link, or acombination thereof. Communications between the virtual computationalstorage emulation module 102 and the compute element 106 and the storageelement 108 may include non-volatile memory express (NVMe)communications.

The computational storage client 104 corresponds to a computing deviceor software configured to issue compute requests and storage requests tothe virtual computational storage emulation module 102. Inimplementations in which the computational storage client 104corresponds to software, the computational storage client 104 maycorrespond to a virtual computing device provided by a hypervisorexecuting instructions at a compute element (such as the compute element106) to emulate a computing device. Communications between thecomputational storage client 104 and the virtual computational storageemulation module 102 may be carried over a peripheral componentinterconnect (PCI) link, a PCI express (PCIe) link, a serial advancedtechnology attachment (SATA) link, a serial attached small computersystem interface (SATA) link, a fibre-channel, an Ethernet link, anInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 link,another type of link, or a combination thereof. Communications betweenthe virtual computational storage emulation module 102 and the computeelement 106 and the storage element 108 may include non-volatile memoryexpress (NVMe) communications.

In operation, the storage element 108 stores data 112 associated withthe virtual computational storage device 110 and the compute element 106executes compute requests associated with the virtual computationalstorage device 110. The data 112 may be written to the storage element108 by the virtual computational storage emulation module 102 responsiveto a request from the computational storage client 104. As shown in FIG.1A, the virtual computational storage emulation module 102 providescompute request translation.

In the illustrated example, the computational storage client 104 sends acompute request 114 to the virtual computational storage emulationmodule 102. The compute request 114 may be addressed to the virtualcomputational storage device 110. The virtual computational storageemulation module 102 may maintain a mapping of the virtual computationalstorage device 110 to the compute element 106 and translate the computerequest 114 as a request for the compute element 106 accordingly.Therefore, the virtual computational storage emulation module 102 mayforward the compute request 114 to the compute element 106. It should benoted that while the above example describes the compute request 114being forwarded to the compute element 106, in practice a differentmessage may be sent to the compute element 106 than is received by thevirtual computational storage emulation module 102 from thecomputational storage client 104. For example, the compute request 114may correspond to an NVMe request, such as an NVMe command to loadand/or execute a program, (or other type of request), but the computeelement 106 may not support NVMe (or another type of protocol).Accordingly, the virtual computational storage emulation module 102 maytranslate the compute request 114 into a translated message of aprotocol supported by the compute element 106. The virtual computationalstorage emulation module 102 may forward the translated message to thecompute element 106 rather than the compute request 114. As indicatedabove, the virtual computational storage emulation module 102 maysupport emulation of a physical computational storage device.Translation of compute requests may comprise one aspect of thisemulation.

In some implementations, the virtual computational storage device 110may correspond to more than one compute element. In such cases, thevirtual computational storage emulation module 102 may select whichcompute element to forward the compute request 114 to based on a loadbalancing algorithm. In addition or the alternative, the virtualcomputational storage emulation module 102 may select a compute elementto forward the compute request 114 to based on an address of datatargeted by the compute request 114. For example, the virtualcomputational storage emulation module 102 may forward the computerequest 114 to a particular computational storage device in response todetermining that the compute request 114 targets data stored on theparticular computational storage device.

The compute element 106 may return a result (not shown) of the computerequest 114 to the computational storage client 104 directly or throughthe virtual computational storage emulation module 102. Similarly, thecompute element 106 may communicate with the storage element 108directly or through the virtual computational storage emulation module102. For example, the compute request 114 may target the data 112. Thecompute element 106 may retrieve the data 112 directly from the storageelement 108 or the virtual computational storage emulation module 102may retrieve the data 112 from the storage element 108 and forward thedata 112 to the compute element 106 with the compute request 114. Inembodiments in which the compute element 106 returns a result throughthe virtual computational storage emulation module 102, the virtualcomputational storage emulation module may translate the result into aprotocol supported by the computational storage client 104 (e.g., aprotocol configured to support communications between a computationalstorage client and a computational storage device). As indicated above,the virtual computational storage emulation module 102 may supportemulation of a physical computational storage device. Translation ofcompute request results may comprise one aspect of this emulation.

FIG. 1B illustrates an example in which the virtual computationalstorage emulation module 102 of the system 100 provides storage requesttranslation. In the illustrated example, the computational storageclient 104 sends a storage request 116 to the virtual computationalstorage emulation module 102. The storage request 116 may correspond toa read request or a write request. In some implementations, the storagerequest 116 corresponds to an NVMe request. The storage request 116 isdirected to the virtual computational storage device 110. The virtualcomputational storage emulation module 102 maintains a mapping betweenvirtual computational storage devices and storage elements. Based on themapping, the virtual computational storage emulation module 102 mayforward the storage request 116 to the storage element 108. It should benoted that while the above example describes the storage request 116being forwarded to the storage element 108, in practice a differentmessage may be sent to the storage element 108 than is received by thevirtual computational storage emulation module 102 from thecomputational storage client 104. For example, the storage request 116may correspond to an NVMe request (or other type of request), but thestorage element 108 may not support NVMe (or another type of protocol).Accordingly, the virtual computational storage emulation module 102 maytranslate the storage request 116 into a translated message of aprotocol supported by the storage element 108. The virtual computationalstorage emulation module 102 may forward the translated message to thestorage element 108 rather than the storage request 116. As indicatedabove, the virtual computational storage emulation module 102 maysupport emulation of a physical computational storage device.Translation of storage requests may comprise one aspect of thisemulation.

In some implementations, the virtual computational storage device 110may correspond to more than one storage element. In such cases, thevirtual computational storage emulation module 102 may select a storageelement to forward the storage request 116 to based on an address (e.g.,a logical block address (LBA)) targeted by the storage request 116. Forexample, for each virtual computational storage device, the virtualcomputational storage emulation module 102 may maintain a mapping ofstorage elements to address (e.g., LBA) ranges. In examples in which thestorage request 116 corresponds to a write request, the virtualcomputational storage emulation module 102 may select which storageelement to forward the storage request 116 to based on a load balancingalgorithm. The virtual computational storage emulation module 102 mayupdate the mapping of addresses to storage elements to reflect whichstorage element the write request is sent to. For example, in responseto sending a write for LBA A to a first storage element, the virtualcomputational storage emulation module 102 may update a mapping toindicate that LBA A is associated with the first storage element.

The compute element 106 may return a result (not shown) of the storagerequest 116 to the computational storage client 104 directly or throughthe virtual computational storage emulation module 102. For example, thestorage element 108 may send the data 112 to the computational storageclient 104 in response to a read request. As another example, thestorage element 108 may send a read request to the computational storageclient 104 in response to a write request (alternatively the virtualcomputational storage emulation module 102 may send the read request tothe computational storage client 104). In examples in which results arereturned through the virtual computational storage emulation module 102,the virtual computational storage emulation module 102 may translate theresults into a protocol used by the computational storage client 104. Asindicated above, the virtual computational storage emulation module 102may support emulation of a physical computational storage device.Translation of storage request results may comprise one aspect of thisemulation. Emulation is described further with respect to FIG. 1C.

In some examples, the storage request 116 corresponds to a request towrite the data 112 to the storage element 108. The virtual computationalstorage emulation module 102 may translate the storage request 116 andforward it to the storage element 108 as described above.

FIG. 1C depicts an example of the system 100 providing emulation of acomputational storage device. In the illustrated example, thecomputational storage client 104 and the virtual computational storageemulation module 102 communicate according to a protocol supported bycomputational storage devices (e.g., NVMe). The virtual computationalstorage emulation module 102 is configured to translate between thesecomputational storage messages and messages according to one or moreprotocols supported by the compute element 106 and the storage element108.

In the illustrated example, the computational storage client 104 sends acomputational storage (CSD) command 118 (e.g., a compute command, astorage command, or another type of command) to the virtualcomputational storage emulation module 102. The CSD command 118 conformsto a CSD protocol (e.g., NVMe) supported by the computational storageclient 104 and the virtual computational storage emulation module 102.The virtual computational storage emulation module 102 translates theCSD command 118 into a hardware command 120 that conforms to a protocolutilized by the compute element 106 and sends the hardware command 120to the compute element 106. Part of the translation may includetranslating an address identified in the CSD command 118 to an addressassociated with the storage element 108. For example, an LBA A of thevirtual computational storage device 110 may be mapped to an LBA B atthe storage element 108. In some implementations, the virtualcomputational storage emulation module 102 may fetch data from thestorage element 108 based on the translated address and include thefetched data in the hardware command 120. While the previous exampledescribes both the virtual computational storage device and the storageelement 108 supporting LBAs, the virtual computational storage device110 and the storage element 108 may support different types ofaddressing schemes (e.g., key-value). The virtual computational storageemulation module 102 may translate between an addressing schemepresented by the virtual computational storage device 110 and anaddressing scheme supported by the storage element 108. In response tothe hardware command 120, the compute element 106 generates a hardwareresult 122 and sends the hardware result 122 to the virtualcomputational storage emulation module 102. The virtual computationalstorage emulation module 102 translates the hardware result 122 into aCSD result 124 that conforms to the CSD protocol utilized by thecomputational storage client 104 and transmits the CSD result 124 to thecomputational storage client 104.

While FIG. 1C depicts an example in which the CSD command 118corresponds to a compute command, it should be noted that the virtualcomputational storage emulation module 102 may provide similartranslation of storage commands. For example the CSD command 118 maycorrespond to a storage request. Accordingly, the virtual computationalstorage emulation module 102 may translate the CSD command 118 into thehardware command 120 and send the hardware command 120 to the storageelement 108. As described above, the CSD command 118 and the hardwarecommand 120 may be of different protocols and/or utilize differentaddressing schemes. In this case, the storage element 108 may return thehardware result 122 (e.g., including the data 112) to the virtualcomputational storage emulation module 102 and the virtual computationalstorage emulation module 102 may translate the hardware result 122 intothe CSD result 124 and send the CSD result 124 to the computationalstorage client 104. Thus, the virtual computational storage emulationmodule 102 may provide translation of both compute and storage commandsaddressed to a virtual computational storage device.

In addition to providing translation of computational storage devicemessages, the virtual computational storage emulation module 102 mayemulate other functions of a computational storage device. For example,the virtual computational storage emulation module 102 may maintain oneor more submission queues (or other data structures) associated with acomputational storage device in memory (not shown) of a computing devicethat executes the virtual computational storage emulation module. Asanother example, the virtual computational storage emulation module 102may advertise availability of a computational storage device to thecomputational storage client 104 according to a CSD protocol. It shouldbe noted that advertised capabilities may correspond to emulatedcapabilities. That is, the virtual computational storage emulationmodule 102 may advertise hardware capabilities and may implement theadvertised hardware capabilities in software.

Thus, FIGS. 1A-1C illustrate a system for providing virtualcomputational storage devices. The system supports storage devicetranslation and forwarding, computational device translation andforwarding, and emulation of other functions of a computational storagedevice. As described further below, the underlying hardware used by thevirtual computational storage emulation module 102 to provide thevirtual computational storage devices may take many forms. Therefore,the system 100 of FIGS. 1A-1C may provide functionality of acomputational storage device to a computational storage client in a widevariety of hardware setups.

As briefly described above, a virtual computational storage deviceprovided by the virtual computational storage emulation module 102 maybe supported by more than one storage element and/or more than onecompute element. FIGS. 2A-2B illustrate several examples in which thevirtual computational storage device is supported by additional physicalcomponents.

FIG. 2A illustrates an example of the system 100 in which the virtualcomputational storage device 110 corresponds to a first storage element202 and a second storage element 204 in place of the storage element108. The first storage element 202 stores first data 206 associated withthe virtual computational storage device 110 and the second storageelement 204 stores second data 208 associated with the virtualcomputational storage device 110.

The computational storage client 104 may send a first storage request210 to the virtual computational storage emulation module 102. The firststorage request 210 may identify a first address 212 (e.g., a firstLBA). The virtual computational storage emulation module 102 may routethe first storage request 210 to the first storage element 202 based onthe first address 212. For example, the virtual computational storageemulation module 102 may store a mapping of addresses of the virtualcomputational storage device 110 addresses of the first storage element202 and the second storage element 204. In some implementations, thefirst storage request 210 may correspond to a write request and thevirtual computational storage emulation module 102 may send the firststorage request 210 to the first storage element 202 based on a loadbalancing algorithm. For example, the virtual computational storageemulation module 102 may distribute write requests among storageelements in a round robin fashion (or according to some otheralgorithm). In response to writing data for a particular virtual storagedevice address to a particular address of a storage element, the virtualcomputational storage emulation module 102 may update the mapping ofvirtual computational storage device addresses to storage elementaddresses to indicate that the particular virtual storage device addressis mapped to the particular address of the storage element.

In the illustrated example, the computational storage client 104 issuesa second storage request 214 identifying a second address 216 andforwards the second storage request 214 to the second storage element204. The virtual computational storage emulation module 102 may identifythe second storage element 204 to receive the second storage request 214using the techniques described above with respect to the first storagerequest 210. It should be noted that, as with the storage request 116described above, the first storage request 210 and the second storagerequest 214 may be translated by the virtual computational storageemulation module 102 into messages that conform to one or more protocolsutilized by the first storage element 202 and the second storage element204. The first storage element 202 and the second storage element 204may support different protocols.

FIG. 2B illustrates an example of the system 100 in which the virtualcomputational storage device 110 corresponds to a first compute element218 and a second compute element 220 in place of the compute element106. In the illustrated example, the computational storage client 104sends a first compute request 224 and a second compute request 228 tothe virtual computational storage emulation module 102. Both the firstcompute request 224 and the second compute request 228 are directed tothe virtual computational storage device 110. The first compute request224 identifies a first address 226 and the second compute request 228identifies a second address 230. The virtual computational storageemulation module 102 forwards the first compute request 224 to the firstcompute element 218 and forwards the second compute request 228 to thesecond compute element 220. The virtual computational storage emulationmodule 102 may route the first compute request 224 to the first computeelement 218 to the first compute element 218 based on the first address226. For example, the virtual computational storage emulation module 102may manage a mapping of virtual computational storage device addressesto compute elements. In another example, the virtual computationalstorage emulation module 102 may route compute requests according to aload balancing algorithm. As described above, the virtual computationalstorage emulation module 102 may translate the compute requests 224, 228into a different protocol prior to forwarding to the compute elements218, 220. In some implementations, the virtual computational storageemulation module 102 retrieves data associated with the first address226 from the storage element 108 and forwards this data to the firstcompute element 218 with the first compute request 224. Similarly, thevirtual computational storage emulation module 102 may retrieve dataassociated with the second address 230 from the storage element 108 andforward this data to the second compute element 220 with the secondcompute request 228.

It should be noted that a virtual computational storage device maycorrespond to more than one compute element and more than one storageelement. In addition, while FIGS. 2A-2B show examples with 2 storageelements and 2 compute elements respectively, other numbers may ofstorage elements and/or compute elements may be utilized by the virtualcomputational storage emulation module 102 to provide a virtualcomputational storage device. Further, the virtual computational storageemulation module 102 may support more than one virtual computationalstorage device. Examples in which the virtual computational storageemulation module 102 supports more than one virtual computationalstorage device are shown in FIGS. 3A-3C.

In FIG. 3A, the virtual computational storage emulation module 102provides a first virtual computational storage device 302 and a secondvirtual computational storage device 304 in place of the virtualcomputational storage device 110. The first virtual computationalstorage device 302 is supported by a first compute element 306 and afirst storage element 308. The first storage element 308 stores firstdata 310 associated with the first virtual computational storage device302. The second virtual computational storage device 304 is supported bya second compute element 312 and a second storage element 314. Thesecond storage element 314 stores second data 316 associated with thesecond virtual computational storage device 304.

The virtual computational storage emulation module 102 is configured toprovide compute request translation, storage request translation, andvirtual computational storage device emulation for the first virtualcomputational storage device and the second virtual computationalstorage device, as described above with reference to the virtualcomputational storage device 110. The virtual computational storageemulation module 102 may route storage commands (and translate thestorage commands) for the first virtual computational storage device 302to storage elements that support the first virtual computational storagedevice 302 (e.g., the first storage element 308). The virtualcomputational storage emulation module 102 may route compute commands(and translate the compute commands) for the first virtual computationalstorage device 302 to compute elements that support the first virtualcomputational storage device 302 (e.g., the first compute element 306).Similarly, the virtual computational storage emulation module 102 mayroute (and translate) compute and storage commands for the secondvirtual computational storage device 304 to devices that support thesecond virtual computational storage device 304 (e.g., the secondcompute element 312 and the second storage element 314). Further, thevirtual computational storage emulation module 102 may emulate otherfunctions of the first virtual computational storage device 302 and thesecond virtual computational storage device 304, as described above. Forexample, the virtual computational storage emulation module 102 maymaintain submission queues associated with the virtual computationalstorage devices 302, 304, advertise availability of the virtualcomputational storage devices 302, 304, etc.

While FIG. 3A illustrates virtual computational storage devicessupported by unique underlying physical devices, it should be noted thatphysical devices may be shared amongst virtual computational storagedevices. FIG. 3B illustrates an example in which the first virtualcomputational storage device 302 and the second virtual computationalstorage device 304 share a storage element 330. Accordingly, the virtualcomputational storage emulation module 102 may forward (and/ortranslate) a first storage request 332 for the first virtualcomputational storage device 302 and a second storage request 334 forthe second virtual computational storage device 304 to the storageelement 330.

FIG. 3C illustrates an example in which the first virtual computationalstorage device 302 and the second virtual computational storage device304 share a compute element 350. Accordingly, the virtual computationalstorage emulation module 102 may forward (and/or translate) a firstcompute request 352 for the first virtual computational storage device302 and a second compute request 354 for the second virtualcomputational storage device 304 to the compute element 350. Thus, FIGS.3A-3C illustrate different examples in which the virtual computationalstorage emulation module 102 supports more than one virtualcomputational storage device. As shown, different virtual computationalstorage devices may be supported by distinct underlying physical devicesor may share underlying physical devices.

It should be noted that while the examples described herein include asingle host, the virtual computational storage emulation module 102 maysupport more than one host. In some examples, virtual computationalstorage devices are exclusive to a host. In other examples, a virtualcomputational storage device is shared between hosts. It should furtherbe noted that the virtual computational storage emulation module 102 maysupport virtual computational storage devices that have differentfunctions. For example, the virtual computational storage emulationmodule 102 may provide a first virtual computational storage device thatprovides compression/decompression and a second virtual computationalstorage device that provides encryption/decryption. The virtualcomputational storage emulation module 102 may performcompression/decompression of data for requests associated with the firstvirtual computational storage device as part of emulating the firstvirtual computational storage device. Further, the virtual computationalstorage emulation module 102 may perform encryption/decryption of datafor requests associated with the second virtual computational storagedevice as part of emulating the second virtual computational storagedevice.

As described above, the system 100 may provide virtual computationalstorage devices using compute and storage elements from various sources.Referring to FIG. 4 , a system 400 for providing virtual computationalstorage devices. The system 400 includes a computing device 402. Thecomputing device 402 includes a compute element 404 and a storageelement 406. The compute element 404 may include a processing device,and may correspond to the compute element 106, the first compute element218, the second compute element 220, the first compute element 306, orthe second compute element 312 described above. The storage element 406may include a non-volatile storage device and may correspond to thestorage element 108, the first storage element 202, the second storageelement 204, the first storage element 308, or the second storageelement 314. The computing device 402 is configured to execute ahypervisor 408 that includes a virtual computational storage emulationmodule 410. The hypervisor 408 may be executed at the compute element404 or at another processor of the computing device 402. The virtualcomputational storage emulation module 410 may correspond to the virtualcomputational storage emulation module 102 described above.

The hypervisor 408 is configured to provide a first virtual machine 412and a second virtual machine 416. In some implementations, the firstvirtual machine 412 or the second virtual machine 416 correspond to thecomputational storage client 104. The virtual computational storageemulation module 410 is configured to present a first virtualcomputational storage device 414 to the first virtual machine 412 and asecond virtual computational storage device 418 to the second virtualmachine 416. The first virtual computational storage device 414 maycorrespond to the virtual computational storage device 110, the firstvirtual computational storage device 302, or the second virtualcomputational storage device 304. The second virtual computationalstorage device 418 may correspond to the virtual computational storagedevice 110, the first virtual computational storage device 302, or thesecond virtual computational storage device 304.

The virtual computational storage emulation module 410 is configured toprovide functionality of the virtual computational storage devices 414,418 using components of the computing device 402. Thus, the virtualcomputational storage emulation module 410 may translate computerequests for the virtual computational storage devices 414, 418 intocompute requests for the compute element 404 and translate storagerequests for the virtual computational storage devices 414, 418 intostorage requests for the storage element 406, as described above.Accordingly, FIG. 4A illustrates that a computing device (e.g., aserver) may provide virtual computational storage device functionalityusing components of the computing device.

Referring to FIG. 4B, an alternative implementation of the system 400 isshown in which the computing device 402 communicates (e.g., via PCIe orsome other connection) with a first computational storage device 430 anda second computational storage device 432. The first computationalstorage device 430 includes a first compute element 434 and a firststorage element 436. The second computational storage device 432includes a first compute element 438 and a second compute element 440.The first compute element 434 may include a processing device, and maycorrespond to the compute element 106, the first compute element 218,the second compute element 220, the first compute element 306, or thesecond compute element 312 described above. Similarly, the secondcompute element 438 may include a processing device, and may correspondto the compute element 106, the first compute element 218, the secondcompute element 220, the first compute element 306, or the secondcompute element 312 described above. The first storage element 436 mayinclude a non-volatile storage device and may correspond to the storageelement 108, the first storage element 202, the second storage element204, the first storage element 308, or the second storage element 314.Similarly, the second storage element 440 may include a non-volatilestorage device and may correspond to the storage element 108, the firststorage element 202, the second storage element 204, the first storageelement 308, or the second storage element 314.

The virtual computational storage emulation module 410 is configured toprovide functionality of the virtual computational storage devices 414,418 using components of the computational storage devices 430, 432.Thus, the virtual computational storage emulation module 410 maytranslate compute requests for the virtual computational storage devices414, 418 into compute requests for components of the first computationalstorage device 430 and/or components of the second computational storagedevice 432, as described above. Accordingly, FIG. 4B illustrates thatcomponents of physical computational storage devices may be virtualizedby the disclosed systems.

Referring to FIG. 4C, an alternative implementation of the system 400 isshown in which the computing device 402 communicates (e.g., via PCIe orsome other connection) with a compute element 450 and a storage element452. The compute element 450 may include a processing device (e.g., anFPGA), and may correspond to the compute element 106, the first computeelement 218, the second compute element 220, the first compute element306, or the second compute element 312 described above. The storageelement 452 may include a non-volatile storage device (e.g., anon-computational storage device) and may correspond to the storageelement 108, the first storage element 202, the second storage element204, the first storage element 308, or the second storage element 314.

The virtual computational storage emulation module 410 is configured toprovide functionality of the virtual computational storage devices 414,418 using the external compute element 450 and the storage element 452.Thus, the virtual computational storage emulation module 410 maytranslate compute requests for the virtual computational storage devices414, 418 into compute requests for the compute element 450 and translatestorage requests for the virtual computational storage devices 414, 418into storage requests for the storage element 452, as described above.Accordingly, FIG. 4C illustrates that a computing device (e.g., aserver) may provide virtual computational storage device functionalityusing external components.

FIG. 4D illustrates that the virtual computational storage emulationmodule 410 may provide virtual computational storage devices using anycombination of devices described with reference to FIG. 4A-C. Thus, thevirtual computational storage emulation module 410 may provide a virtualcomputing device that corresponds to an internal (to a device executingthe virtual computational storage emulation module) processing element,an internal storage device, an external (to a device executing thevirtual computational storage emulation module) processing element, anexternal storage device, a physical computational storage device, or anycombination thereof.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a method 500 for providing a virtualcomputational storage device. The method 500 may be performed by avirtual computational storage emulation module (e.g., by one or moreprocessors executing such a module), such as the virtual computationalstorage emulation module 102 or the virtual computational storageemulation module 410. The method 500 includes providing, at a virtualcomputational storage device emulation module, a virtual computationalstorage device, wherein data associated with the virtual computationalstorage device is stored at a storage element, at 502. For example, thevirtual computational storage emulation module 102 may provide thevirtual computational storage device 110. The data 112 of the virtualcomputational storage device 110 may be stored at the storage element108. In another example, the first data 206 of the virtual computationalstorage device may be stored at the first storage element 202 and thesecond data 208 ay be stored at the second storage element 204. Inanother example, the virtual computational storage emulation module 102may provide the first virtual computational storage device 302 and thesecond virtual computational storage device 304. The first data 310 ofthe first virtual computational storage device 302 may be stored at thefirst storage element 308 and the second data 316 of the second virtualcomputational storage device 304 may be stored at the second storageelement 314. In another example, the first data 310 of the first virtualcomputational storage device 302 and the second data 316 of the secondvirtual computational storage device 304 may be stored at the storageelement 330.

The method 500 further includes receiving, at the virtual computationalstorage device emulation module, a compute request for the virtualstorage device, at 504. For example, the virtual computational storageemulation module 102 may receive the compute request 114, the CSDcommand 118, the first compute request 224, the second compute request228, the first compute request 352, or the second compute request 354from the computational storage client 104.

The method 500 further includes sending a translation of the computerequest to a compute element, at 506. For example, the virtualcomputational storage emulation module 102 may send a translation of thecompute request 114, the first compute request 224, the second computerequest 228, the first compute request 352, or the second computerequest 354 (e.g., the hardware command 120) to the compute element 106,the first compute element 218, the second compute element 220, the firstcompute element 306, or the second compute element 312. Generating thetranslation may include mapping a request in a first protocol (e.g.,NVMe) to a request in a second protocol (e.g., a protocol supported bythe processing element).

Thus, the method 500 may provide a technique for virtualization of acomputational storage device. Accordingly, a computational storageclient may enjoy the benefits of a computational storage device insystems that have a wide variety of underlying physical components.

In some examples, the method 500 further includes initializing a virtualcomputational storage device. For example, the virtual computationalstorage emulation module 102 or the virtual computational storageemulation module 410 may generate one or more mapping tables of virtualcomputational storage devices to physical components. The mapping tablesmay map addresses of virtual computational storage devices to addressesof physical storage devices. The mapping tables may further map virtualcomputational storage devices to compute elements. Physical componentsmay be assigned to a virtual computational storage device and themapping tables may be setup based on commands from a computationalstorage client, based on a load balancing algorithm, or a combinationthereof.

FIG. 5B is a flowchart of a method 510 of providing a virtualcomputational storage device that supports storage requests. The method510 may be performed by a virtual computational storage emulation module(e.g., by one or more processors executing such a module), such as thevirtual computational storage emulation module 102 or the virtualcomputational storage emulation module 410. The method 510 includesproviding, at a virtual computational storage device emulation module, avirtual computational storage device, where data associated with thevirtual computational storage device is stored at a storage element, at512. For example, the virtual computational storage emulation module 102may provide the virtual computational storage device 110. The data 112of the virtual computational storage device 110 may be stored at thestorage element 108. In another example, the first data 206 of thevirtual computational storage device may be stored at the first storageelement 202 and the second data 208 ay be stored at the second storageelement 204. In another example, the virtual computational storageemulation module 102 may provide the first virtual computational storagedevice 302 and the second virtual computational storage device 304. Thefirst data 310 of the first virtual computational storage device 302 maybe stored at the first storage element 308 and the second data 316 ofthe second virtual computational storage device 304 may be stored at thesecond storage element 314. In another example, the first data 310 ofthe first virtual computational storage device 302 and the second data316 of the second virtual computational storage device 304 may be storedat the storage element 330.

The method 510 further includes receiving, at the virtual computationalstorage device emulation module, a storage request for the virtualstorage device, at 514. For example, the virtual computational storageemulation module 102 may receive the storage request 116, the CSDcommand 118, the first storage request 210, the second storage request214, the first storage request 332, or the second storage request 334from the computational storage client 104.

The method 510 further includes sending a translation of the storagerequest to the storage element, at 516. For example, the virtualcomputational storage emulation module 102 may send a translation of thestorage request 116, the CSD command 118, the first storage request 210,the second storage request 214, the first storage request 332, or thesecond storage request 334 (e.g., the hardware command 120) to thestorage element 108, the first storage element 202, the second storageelement 204, the first storage element 308, or the second storageelement 314. Generating the translation may include mapping a request ina first protocol (e.g., NVMe) to a request in a second protocol (e.g., aprotocol supported by the storage element).

Thus, the method 510 may provide a technique for virtualization of acomputational storage device that supports storage commands.Accordingly, a computational storage client may enjoy the benefits of acomputational storage device in systems that have a wide variety ofunderlying physical components.

FIG. 5C is a flowchart of a method 520 of providing a virtualcomputational storage device that returns command results in acomputational storage format. The method 520 may be performed by avirtual computational storage emulation module (e.g., by one or moreprocessors executing such a module), such as the virtual computationalstorage emulation module 102 or the virtual computational storageemulation module 410. The method includes receiving, at the virtualcomputational storage device emulation module, a command results from ahardware device, at 524. For example, the virtual computational storageemulation module 102 may receive the hardware result 122. From thecompute element 106 (or the storage element 108). The hardware result122 may correspond to a message generated in response to a compute orstorage command. For example, the hardware result 122 may include aresult of a computation from the compute element 106 or data retrievedfrom the storage element 108.

The method 520 further includes sending a translation of the hardwareresult to a computational storage client, at 526. For example, thevirtual computational storage emulation module 102 may send the CSDresult 124 to the computational storage client 104. The CSD result 124may correspond to a translated version of the hardware result 122. Insome implementations, the CSD result 124 is a message that conforms tothe NVMe protocol though the hardware result 122 may conform to adifferent protocol.

Thus, the method 520 may provide a technique for virtualization of acomputational storage device that returns results of commands to acomputational storage client. Accordingly, a computational storageclient may enjoy the benefits of a computational storage device insystems that have a wide variety of underlying physical components. Itshould be noted that one or more of the methods 500, 510, 520 (oraspects thereof) may be combined and/or performed by the same device.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a computing system 600 that may provide avirtual computational storage device. The computing system 600 includesa computing device 602. The computing device 602 may correspond to thecomputing device 402 described above. The computing device 602 includesa processor device 606 and a memory device 608. The processor device 606may include a CPU, a CPU core, another type of processor device, or acombination thereof.

The memory device 608 may include non-volatile memory, volatile memory,or a combination thereof. As used herein, the memory device 608 is anarticle of manufacture. The memory device 608 stores virtualcomputational storage device (CSD) instructions 610 executable by theprocessor device 606 to provide a virtual computational storage device.The virtual CSD instructions may correspond to the virtual computationalstorage emulation module 102, the hypervisor 408, the virtualcomputational storage emulation module 410, or a combination thereof.The virtual CSD instructions 610 may be executable by the processordevice 606 to perform one or more of the methods 500, 510, 520.

The computing system 600 further includes a storage device 612. Thestorage device 612 may correspond to a non-volatile storage device, suchas a solid state drive or other storage device.

The computing device further includes a communications interface 614configured to communicate with external components. The communicationsinterface 614 may correspond to an Ethernet interface, an IEEE 802.11interface, a PCIe interface, a SATA interface, a SAS interface, anothertype of interface, or a combination thereof. In some implementations,the communications interface 614 may be configured to send messages toand/or receive messages from a computational storage client, such as thecomputational storage client 104.

The communications interface 614 is connected to a computational storagedevice 616, a storage device 618, and a processor device 620. Thevirtual CSD instructions 610 are executable by the processor device 606to provide a virtual computational storage device that utilizes one ormore compute elements and one or more storage elements. The one or morecompute elements may include the processor device 606, the computationalstorage device 616, the processor device 620, or a combination thereof.The one or more storage elements may include the storage device 612, thecomputational storage device 616, the storage device 618, or acombination thereof. The processor device 606 may correspond to thecompute element 106, the first compute element 218, the second computeelement 220, the first compute element 306, the second compute element312, the compute element 404, the first compute element 434, the secondcompute element 438, the compute element 450, or a combination thereof.The computational storage device 616 may correspond to the computeelement 106, the first compute element 218, the second compute element220, the first compute element 306, the second compute element 312, thefirst computational storage device 430, the second computational storagedevice 432, or a combination thereof. The processor device 620 maycorrespond to the compute element 106, the first compute element 218,the second compute element 220, the first compute element 306, thesecond compute element 312, the compute element 450, or a combinationthereof.

In some implementations the memory device 608 further includesinstructions executable by the processor device 606 to provide acomputational storage client, such as the computational storage client104, the first virtual machine 412, the second virtual machine 416, or acombination thereof.

The storage device 612 may correspond to the storage element 108, thefirst storage element 202, the second storage element 204, the firststorage element 308, the second storage element 314, the storage element330, the first storage element 308, the second storage element 314, thestorage element 406, or a combination thereof. The computational storagedevice 616 may correspond to the storage element 108, the first storageelement 202, the second storage element 204, the first storage element308, the second storage element 314, the storage element 330, the firststorage element 308, the first computational storage device 430, thesecond computational storage device 432, or a combination thereof. Thestorage device 618 may correspond to the storage element 108, the firststorage element 202, the second storage element 204, the first storageelement 308, the second storage element 314, the storage element 330,the first storage element 308, the storage element 452, or a combinationthereof.

Thus, the computing system 600 may provide virtualization of acomputational storage device, as described herein. The computing system600 may include more or fewer components that illustrated. Toillustrate, some examples may not include the computational storagedevice 616, the storage device 618, the processor device 620, or anycombination thereof.

Certain embodiments may be implemented in one or a combination ofhardware, firmware, and software. Other embodiments may also beimplemented as instructions stored on a computer-readable storagedevice, which may be read and executed by at least one processor toperform the operations described herein. A computer-readable storagedevice may include any non-transitory memory mechanism for storinginformation in a form readable by a machine (e.g., a computer). Forexample, a computer-readable storage device may include read-only memory(ROM), random-access memory (RAM), magnetic disk storage media, opticalstorage media, flash-memory devices, and other storage devices andmedia.

The word “exemplary” is used herein to mean “serving as an example,instance, or illustration.” Any embodiment described herein as“exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred oradvantageous over other embodiments. The terms “computing device”, “userdevice”, “communication station”, “station”, “handheld device”, “mobiledevice”, “wireless device” and “user equipment” (UE) as used hereinrefers to a wireless communication device such as a cellular telephone,smartphone, tablet, netbook, wireless terminal, laptop computer, afemtocell, High Data Rate (HDR) subscriber station, access point,printer, point of sale device, access terminal, or other personalcommunication system (PCS) device. The device may be either mobile orstationary.

As used within this document, the term “communicate” is intended toinclude transmitting, or receiving, or both transmitting and receiving.This may be particularly useful in claims when describing theorganization of data that is being transmitted by one device andreceived by another, but only the functionality of one of those devicesis required to infringe the claim. Similarly, the bidirectional exchangeof data between two devices (both devices transmit and receive duringthe exchange) may be described as ‘communicating’, when only thefunctionality of one of those devices is being claimed. The term“communicating” as used herein with respect to a wireless communicationsignal includes transmitting the wireless communication signal and/orreceiving the wireless communication signal. For example, a wirelesscommunication unit, which is capable of communicating a wirelesscommunication signal, may include a wireless transmitter to transmit thewireless communication signal to at least one other wirelesscommunication unit, and/or a wireless communication receiver to receivethe wireless communication signal from at least one other wirelesscommunication unit.

Some embodiments may be used in conjunction with various devices andsystems, for example, a Personal Computer (PC), a desktop computer, amobile computer, a laptop computer, a notebook computer, a tabletcomputer, a server computer, a handheld computer, a handheld device, aPersonal Digital Assistant (PDA) device, a handheld PDA device, anon-board device, an off-board device, a hybrid device, a vehiculardevice, a non-vehicular device, a mobile or portable device, a consumerdevice, a non-mobile or non-portable device, a wireless communicationstation, a wireless communication device, a wireless Access Point (AP),a wired or wireless router, a wired or wireless modem, a video device,an audio device, an audio-video (A/V) device, a wired or wirelessnetwork, a wireless area network, a Wireless Video Area Network (WVAN),a Local Area Network (LAN), a Wireless LAN (WLAN), a Personal AreaNetwork (PAN), a Wireless PAN (WPAN), and the like.

Some embodiments may be used in conjunction with one way and/or two-wayradio communication systems, cellular radio-telephone communicationsystems, a mobile phone, a cellular telephone, a wireless telephone, aPersonal Communication Systems (PCS) device, a PDA device whichincorporates a wireless communication device, a mobile or portableGlobal Positioning System (GPS) device, a device which incorporates aGPS receiver or transceiver or chip, a device which incorporates an RFIDelement or chip, a Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) transceiver ordevice, a Single Input Multiple Output (SIMO) transceiver or device, aMultiple Input Single Output (MISO) transceiver or device, a devicehaving one or more internal antennas and/or external antennas, DigitalVideo Broadcast (DVB) devices or systems, multi-standard radio devicesor systems, a wired or wireless handheld device, e.g., a Smartphone, aWireless Application Protocol (WAP) device, or the like.

Some embodiments may be used in conjunction with one or more types ofwireless communication signals and/or systems following one or morewireless communication protocols, for example, Radio Frequency (RF),Infrared (IR), Frequency-Division Multiplexing (FDM), Orthogonal FDM(OFDM), Time-Division Multiplexing (TDM), Time-Division Multiple Access(TDMA), Extended TDMA (E-TDMA), General Packet Radio Service (GPRS),extended GPRS, Code-Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Wideband CDMA(WCDMA), CDMA 2000, single-carrier CDMA, multi-carrier CDMA,Multi-Carrier Modulation (MDM), Discrete Multi-Tone (DMT), Bluetooth™,Global Positioning System (GPS), Wi-Fi, Wi-Max, ZigBee™, Ultra-Wideband(UWB), Global System for Mobile communication (GSM), 2G, 2.5G, 3G, 3.5G,4G, Fifth Generation (5G) mobile networks, 3GPP, Long Term Evolution(LTE), LTE advanced, Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE), orthe like. Other embodiments may be used in various other devices,systems, and/or networks.

Although an example processing system has been described above,embodiments of the subject matter and the functional operationsdescribed herein can be implemented in other types of digital electroniccircuitry, or in computer software, firmware, or hardware, including thestructures disclosed in this specification and their structuralequivalents, or in combinations of one or more of them.

Embodiments of the subject matter and the operations described hereincan be implemented in digital electronic circuitry, or in computersoftware, firmware, or hardware, including the structures disclosed inthis specification and their structural equivalents, or in combinationsof one or more of them. Embodiments of the subject matter describedherein can be implemented as one or more computer programs, i.e., one ormore components of computer program instructions, encoded on computerstorage medium for execution by, or to control the operation of,information/data processing apparatus. Alternatively, or in addition,the program instructions can be encoded on an artificially-generatedpropagated signal, for example a machine-generated electrical, optical,or electromagnetic signal, which is generated to encode information/datafor transmission to suitable receiver apparatus for execution by aninformation/data processing apparatus. A computer storage medium can be,or be included in, a computer-readable storage device, acomputer-readable storage substrate, a random or serial access memoryarray or device, or a combination of one or more of them. Moreover,while a computer storage medium is not a propagated signal, a computerstorage medium can be a source or destination of computer programinstructions encoded in an artificially-generated propagated signal. Thecomputer storage medium can also be, or be included in, one or moreseparate physical components or media (for example multiple CDs, disks,or other storage devices).

The operations described herein can be implemented as operationsperformed by an information/data processing apparatus oninformation/data stored on one or more computer-readable storage devicesor received from other sources.

The term “data processing apparatus” encompasses all kinds of apparatus,devices, and machines for processing data, including by way of example aprogrammable processor, a computer, a system on a chip, or multipleones, or combinations, of the foregoing. The apparatus can includespecial purpose logic circuitry, for example an FPGA (field programmablegate array) or an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit). Theapparatus can also include, in addition to hardware, code that createsan execution environment for the computer program in question, forexample code that constitutes processor firmware, a protocol stack, adatabase management system, an operating system, a cross-platformruntime environment, a virtual machine, or a combination of one or moreof them. The apparatus and execution environment can realize variousdifferent computing model infrastructures, such as web services,distributed computing and grid computing infrastructures.

A computer program (also known as a program, software, softwareapplication, script, or code) can be written in any form of programminglanguage, including compiled or interpreted languages, declarative orprocedural languages, and it can be deployed in any form, including as astand-alone program or as a component, component, subroutine, object, orother unit suitable for use in a computing environment. A computerprogram may, but need not, correspond to a file in a file system. Aprogram can be stored in a portion of a file that holds other programsor information/data (for example one or more scripts stored in a markuplanguage document), in a single file dedicated to the program inquestion, or in multiple coordinated files (for example files that storeone or more components, sub-programs, or portions of code). A computerprogram can be deployed to be executed on one computer or on multiplecomputers that are located at one site or distributed across multiplesites and interconnected by a communication network.

The processes and logic flows described herein can be performed by oneor more programmable processors executing one or more computer programsto perform actions by operating on input information/data and generatingoutput. Processors suitable for the execution of a computer programinclude, by way of example, both general and special purposemicroprocessors, and any one or more processors of any kind of digitalcomputer. Generally, a processor will receive instructions andinformation/data from a read-only memory or a random access memory orboth. The essential elements of a computer are a processor forperforming actions in accordance with instructions and one or morememory devices for storing instructions and data. Generally, a computerwill also include, or be operatively coupled to receive information/datafrom or transfer information/data to, or both, one or more mass storagedevices for storing data, for example magnetic, magneto-optical disks,or optical disks. However, a computer need not have such devices.Devices suitable for storing computer program instructions andinformation/data include all forms of non-volatile memory, media andmemory devices, including by way of example semiconductor memorydevices, for example EPROM, EEPROM, and flash memory devices; magneticdisks, for example internal hard disks or removable disks;magneto-optical disks; and CD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks. The processor andthe memory can be supplemented by, or incorporated in, special purposelogic circuitry.

To provide for interaction with a user, embodiments of the subjectmatter described herein can be implemented on a computer having adisplay device, for example a CRT (cathode ray tube) or LCD (liquidcrystal display) monitor, for displaying information/data to the userand a keyboard and a pointing device, for example a mouse or atrackball, by which the user can provide input to the computer. Otherkinds of devices can be used to provide for interaction with a user aswell; for example, feedback provided to the user can be any form ofsensory feedback, for example visual feedback, auditory feedback, ortactile feedback; and input from the user can be received in any form,including acoustic, speech, or tactile input. In addition, a computercan interact with a user by sending documents to and receiving documentsfrom a device that is used by the user; for example, by sending webpages to a web browser on a user's client device in response to requestsreceived from the web browser.

Embodiments of the subject matter described herein can be implemented ina computing system that includes a back-end component, for example as aninformation/data server, or that includes a middleware component, forexample an application server, or that includes a front-end component,for example a client computer having a graphical user interface or a webbrowser through which a user can interact with an embodiment of thesubject matter described herein, or any combination of one or more suchback-end, middleware, or front-end components. The components of thesystem can be interconnected by any form or medium of digitalinformation/data communication, for example a communication network.Examples of communication networks include a local area network (“LAN”)and a wide area network (“WAN”), an inter-network (for example theInternet), and peer-to-peer networks (for example ad hoc peer-to-peernetworks).

The computing system can include clients and servers. A client andserver are generally remote from each other and typically interactthrough a communication network. The relationship of client and serverarises by virtue of computer programs running on the respectivecomputers and having a client-server relationship to each other. In someembodiments, a server transmits information/data (for example an HTMLpage) to a client device (for example for purposes of displayinginformation/data to and receiving user input from a user interactingwith the client device). Information/data generated at the client device(for example a result of the user interaction) can be received from theclient device at the server.

While this specification contains many specific embodiment details,these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of anyembodiment or of what may be claimed, but rather as descriptions offeatures specific to particular embodiments. Certain features that aredescribed herein in the context of separate embodiments can also beimplemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, variousfeatures that are described in the context of a single embodiment canalso be implemented in multiple embodiments separately or in anysuitable subcombination. Moreover, although features may be describedabove as acting in certain combinations and even initially claimed assuch, one or more features from a claimed combination can in some casesbe excised from the combination, and the claimed combination may bedirected to a subcombination or variation of a sub combination.

Similarly, while operations are depicted in the drawings in a particularorder, this should not be understood as requiring that such operationsbe performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, orthat all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirableresults. In certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processingmay be advantageous. Moreover, the separation of various systemcomponents in the embodiments described above should not be understoodas requiring such separation in all embodiments, and it should beunderstood that the described program components and systems cangenerally be integrated together in a single software product orpackaged into multiple software products.

Thus, particular embodiments of the subject matter have been described.Other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims. In somecases, the actions recited in the claims can be performed in a differentorder and still achieve desirable results. In addition, the processesdepicted in the accompanying figures do not necessarily require theparticular order shown, or sequential order, to achieve desirableresults. In certain embodiments, multitasking and parallel processingmay be advantageous.

Many modifications and other embodiments of the disclosure set forthherein will come to mind to one skilled in the art to which theseembodiments pertain having the benefit of the teachings presented in theforegoing descriptions and the associated drawings. Therefore, it is tobe understood that the embodiments are not to be limited to the specificembodiments disclosed and that modifications and other embodiments areintended to be included within the scope of the appended claims.Although specific terms are employed herein, they are used in a genericand descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system comprising: a virtual computationalstorage emulation module configured to provide a virtual computationalstorage device; a storage element, wherein the virtual computationalstorage emulation module is configured to store data associated with thevirtual computational storage device at the storage element; and acompute element, wherein the virtual computational storage emulationmodule is configured to send a compute request associated with thevirtual computational storage device to the compute element.